Exercise device



July 2, 1963 e. H. BEAULAURIER EXERCISE DEVICE Filed May 12, 1960INVEOR. GERALD H. BEAULAU/P/ER BY Ki l A T TOR/VEVS United States PatentOffice 3,095,947 Patented July 2, 1963 3,095,947 EXERCISE DEVICE GeraldH. Beaulaurier, 42 22nd Ave., San Mateo, Calif.

Filed May 12, 1960, Ser. No. 28,774 1 Claim. (Cl. 182-139) Thisinvention relates to exercise devices of the trampoline type.

At the present time, trampolines are becoming widely used as exercisingand recreational devices. The conventional trampoline is a horizontalmetal frame supported above ground level by legs. A mat or net issupported by springs within the frame. The user of the trampolinebounces on the net to perform various acrobatic stunts.

The conventional trampolines are satisfactory as far as bouncing theuser is concerned, but they are expensive, and sometimes dangerousbecause inexperienced people can be injured by falling onto the metalframe.

This invention provides an inexpensive and safe exercise device to servethe same purpose as conventional trampolines.

Briefly, the exercise device of this invention includes an endlessflexible tube disposed in the shape of a ring or doughnut to define anannular chamber within the tube. A first diaphragm is sealed over oneface of the ring, and a second diaphragm is sealed over the oppositeface of the ring to form a sealed central chamber between thedi-aphragms and within the ring.

In the preferred form of the invention, top and bottom nets are disposedover each of the diaphragms and secured together around their edges by alacing. The preferred form of the invention also includes a fillingvalve for the annular chamber and a filling valve for the centralchamber so that the air pressure within these chambers can be separatelyadjusted to give the device the desired resiliency.

These and other aspects of the invention will be more fully understoodfrom the following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the presently preferred embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an elevation, partly broken away, of the device shown in FIG.1; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the edge of the topnet.

Referring to the drawing, the exercise device includes an endless tubein the shape of a torus or a doughnut to define an annular chamber 12within the tube. The endless tube may be made of any suitable materialwhich is semi-elastic and airtight. In general, the material should belight and thin in body, yet tough. Nylon fabric impregnated with butylrubber is a good material because it is tough and airtight. Preferably,the outer surface of the tube is coated with neoprene (not shown) toresist chafing.

A top diaphragm 14 in the form of a circular sheet is sealed around itsperiphery to the top or one face of the ring. A bottom diaphragm 16,also in the shape of a circular sheet, is sealed around its peripheryacross the bottom face of the ring so that a central chamber 18 isdefined between the two diaphragms and the interior of the ring. The twodiaphragms may be of any suitable material which is semi-elastic andairtight. Conveniently, the diaphragm material is the same as that usedfor the ring.

Top and bottom nets 20 and 21, which are generally circular in shape,are cupped slightly at their peripheries to fit over the ring as shownin FIG. 2. The nets are held in place by laces 22 threaded as shown inFIG. 2 through openings 24 in the respective peripheries of the nets.The material used in the nets may be any suitable flexible material orfabric such as nylon, rayon, etc. Preferably, each net is made up of twosheets of fabric laid together with their respective weaves at a 45 biasto one another. The two sheets are stitched together in a suitablepattern and hemmed at their peripheries. Preferably, e-ach hem envelopsa separate nylon cord 26, which forms a lacing head around the outeredge of each net. The holes 24 are just inside the bead and each hole isprovided with a lacing eyelet or grommet 25.

A first filler valve 30 is mounted in the outside and lower portion ofthe endless tube just above the periphery of the bottom net. A secondfiller valve 32 is mounted in the bottom diaphragm, and the bottom netis cut away to provide an access opening 34 for the second valve. Thefiller valves, which can be of any conventional type used to inflateflexible containers, permit the annular and central chambers to beinflated to any desired pressure independent of each other.

If desired, the nets can be shaped so that their edges terminate againstone another, or even overlap slightly, to provide additional protectionfor the outer wall of the ring. It will be obvious that the nets canalso be joined together by stitching, clipping, etc., as well as by thelacing shown in the drawing.

To use the exercise device just described, the bottom net is placed onthe floor or ground, and the ring-diaphragm assembly is set in place onthe bottom net. The ring and central chambers are then partiallyinflated. Thereafter the top net is set in the position shown in FIG. 2and secured to the lower net by the laces. The annular and centralchambers are then inflated to give the entire unit the desiredresiliency. Thereafter the top net can be bounced on in much the samemanner as a conventional trampoline. As a user bounces on the top net,the air in the chambers is compressed and aids the resilient diaphragmsand ring in tossing the user back into the air. However, this inventionhas the advantage that there are no hard metal frames to cause injury,and the unit is located close to the floor or ground to reduce furtherthe possibility of injury.

I claim:

In a trampoline exercise device:

(a) an endless flexible tube of substantially uniform cross-sectiondisposed in the shape of a ring to define an annular chamber within thetube;

(b) the tube being portable and adapted to be placed in a horizontalposition relative to a floor or ground;

(0) a resilient top diaphragm in the form of a circular sheet sealedaround its periphery to the top face of the tube to bridge across thetube;

(d) a resilient bottom diaphragm, also in the shape of a circular sheet,sealed around its periphery to the bottom face of the tube to bridgeacross the tube;

(e) the diaphragms being spaced apart and coacting with the tube todefine a sealed central chamber;

(f) a filling valve for the annular chamber of the tube, and a separatefilling valve for the central chamber, whereby these chambers may beinflated and the pressures within the chambers can be separatelyadjusted to give the trampoline exercise device the desired resiliency;

(g) the top diaphragm normally being substantially flat and disposedtangentially to the transverse curvature of the top face of the tube inall radial crosssections of the latter, whereby a substantially flatresilient support is provided;

a (h) a flexible bottom net secured over the underneath surface of thebottom diaphragm to protect the latter from being damaged by the flooror ground; (i) a flexible top net secured over the exposed upper surfaceof the top diaphragm to 'protect the latter from being scuffed by theuser; and a (j) the top net being entirely unobstructed from above,

whereby the user may bounce thereon with freedom of movement to performvarious acrobatic stunts.

References Cited in the fiie of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS TuckerDec. 25, 1934 K-uhlman Oct. 8, 1940 Evans Feb. 7, 1950 Boyle et a1 Oct.2, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Apr. 30, 1954

